


Absolute Pleasure

by dianasilverman



Category: Cormoran Strike Series - Robert Galbraith
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Halloween, Short & Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-01
Updated: 2018-11-01
Packaged: 2019-08-14 00:26:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16482596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dianasilverman/pseuds/dianasilverman
Summary: On a crisp October evening as the sun is setting, Cormoran heads back to the office, only to find that Robin is already there.





	Absolute Pleasure

Don't dream it, be it.  
Richard O'Brien, "Rose Tint My World".

Sighing heavily, Cormoran let himself into the stairwell. It was half past six, and sunset was burnishing the London skyline. His breath fogged in the October chill. The day’s interview had gone well, reticent witness and overpriced meal aside, but it was still a relief to be done with work momentarily. There was blessed quiet and a six pack of Tennant’s awaiting him in his flat.

He was only on the first step of the metal staircase when he heard it; a loud scuffling upstairs, followed by a series of arhythmic thumps. The solitary graphic designer with whom they shared the building always left long before this, so the sound had to be coming from his office. In a split second, he remembered that Robin hadn't checked in since lunchtime. Something was terribly wrong.

Hauling himself up the stairs two at a time, he was to the landing in a heartbeat. Ignoring the pain in his stump caused by the sudden burst of motion, he threw himself through the office door, hands already curling into fists. Robin’s attacker would be leaving the office on a stretcher.

But there was no attacker, as he quickly realised. Only Robin herself, back turned to him, headphones in her ears. She was alternately swaying and stomping along to unheard music, occasionally sidestepping and narrowly dodging the file cabinet. There appeared to be choreography involved. He could hear a faint, tinny chattering from her earbuds. She sidestepped, narrowly avoiding the desk. Mingled relief and hilarity washed over him and he had to stifle a laugh.

Her hair had mostly escaped from her topknot, red gold strands glowing in the dying light. The slim grey skirt she wore had been rucked up by dancing. Just for a moment, he allowed himself to be enraptured. She was a marvel.

'Fuck', he cursed violently to himself. Every time he thought his pretenses were intact, the world seemed to throw another situation at him that made it difficult to conceal his feelings. This was only the most egregious in a recent string of examples.

Caught in the infectious melody, Robin did not manage to dodge the desk a second time. Her hip caught the edge and she cursed, sharp pain shooting up her leg. A few loose contracts were knocked over and drifted lazily to the floor. She bent to pick them up, chastising herself for her one-woman party. After all, she had returned to the office that evening with the intention of working. Then, on her way back up, she froze abruptly. There was a large pair of black shoes planted by the door. Cormoran.

His face was a fascinating map of creases drawn in mirth. The dark eyes that had so often been on her mind lately were twinkling. He was evidently trying not to laugh, and failing. 'At me', she reminded herself, 'he's laughing at me.' Blushing furiously, she yanked out her earbuds, determined to salvage the situation.

"How'd your interview go? I was thinking we could cross reference what Mrs. Daniels said with what we know to be true from the police file".

"Hold on a second", he said, crossing the room so he was right in front of her. He plucked one of her dangling headphones from her hand. "Weren't you going to tell me what all that was about? I ran up here thinking you were being attacked."

"Bugger." She had been counting on him to not mention her dancing. Of the two of them, he was the more likely to deliberately drop unpleasant topics. Apparently, that didn't apply today, and he was relentless in the pursuit of information. It might be easier to come out with it.

"April's invited me to The Rocky Horror Show. I've never seen it, so I was listening to the music so I don't make a fool of myself. Clearly, I failed." She could feel his eyes on her and had developed a sudden fascination with his right shoulder. It was a rather nice shoulder, wide and strong under his greatcoat.

"It's The Rocky Horror 'Picture' Show", he corrected, laughing. Despite her wounded dignity, she couldn't help but laugh, too.

"You've been?" She had a sudden mental image of Strike in fishnets that was not as displeasing as she would've preferred.

"One of Nick's mates used to play Brad. Not really my scene, but the music's not half bad." He had slipped one of her earbuds in.

"I like the music, too, actually. More than I was expecting." Feeling it was safe to look at him, she gave him a small smile, putting in the other earbud just in time to catch the last few seconds of the Time Warp.

"Seventies glam rock?", he inquired skeptically, realising he didn't know what kind of music she liked. The few songs he associated with Robin could, in fact, have been of her ex husband's choosing.

"Matt used to insist on choosing songs when we were together, so I never really figured out what I liked, not entirely", she admitted, echoing his thoughts. She met his eyes again as another song started, shrugging away the specter of her ex.

"Arsehole", he remarked sincerely, then quipped, "your dancing is a treasure that needs to be shared with the world."

Delighted for reasons that needed no analysis, she nodded in agreement, rhythmic electric guitars pulling her back into the song. She bounced on the balls of her feet in time to the drums, hips swaying slightly. Amazed at her bravado, she draped an arm across Cormoran's shoulder, closing yet more of the distance between them. 'My confidence has increased', growled a woman in her ear.

To her surprise, he laughed and joined her in bouncing, at least as much as he could. Held together by amusement and headphones, they danced in place for just a moment. He rested a hand at her waist.

Rather abruptly, the song changed, becoming sultry and absurd. Embarrassed, Robin pulled away, heat creeping back into her face. Their position, which had felt natural just seconds ago, seemed obscene. She'd been only inches away from pressing herself to him.

'Give yourself over...', compelled the singer, and Robin was tempted. It would be so easy, she thought, to lean into him again. If she made her move right now, he might not pull away.

But as she hesitated, the moment was broken. Strike took a step back, pulling out his earbud, and cursing himself. Everything about the moment had been too intense and too soon, he knew. Robin would not want any of this, especially not now. Her divorce had just gone through, the trial was just over, the journalists who had been tailing them had just moved on. Besides, he was her boss. Their working relationship meant too much to jeopardize like this, however much he wanted to. He just hoped he could salvage the situation.

"That was-", he started.

"Yeah", Robin volunteered hastily.

"So the Daniels file?".

"Look, Cormoran..." She was looking up at him with an expression that was hard to read; blue eyes dark, lips quirked in a half smile. Sunlight and exertion had turned her angelic, which he, tired and irresolute, vaguely resented. He wanted her to stop looking at him like that so they could move on.

"I don't trust the wife. I don't think the Met's case is rock solid, but there's something strange-". His words were drowned out by the song still playing in Robin's ear: 'don't dream it, be it.' She closed the distance between them again, and was met with a skeptical expression. It didn't matter; she could see past his pretense.

"Do you own any fishnets?', she asked innocently.

**Author's Note:**

> Indulge me this little bit of Halloween RHPS silliness, please. I promise to write something that's more accurate to the characters soon.


End file.
